MADRID, 28 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The coach of Atlético de Madrid, Diego Pablo Simeone, has assured that he does not waste time comparing the days of preparation that Real Madrid has had and those that his team has had before the Madrid derby this Sunday at the Cívitas Metropolitano, and He has stated, ironically, that “there are people who work very well” their schedules and “their work must be respected.”
“I don’t look at time at all, we accept what there is. We already said it a long time ago, when they sent us to play with Athletic in the semifinal, that no one cared. We did care, and we played, they with five days rest and we have two days. And no one cares about what happened in the first game. From then on, I am absolutely not worried if they tell us to play every two days, three days, one day, five days. who works very well, we must respect his work,” he declared at a press conference.
In this sense, he recognized the difficulty of introducing new things in just two days of training. “It is difficult to change in two days, from Thursday’s game to Sunday, what we have been doing. It is a job that we have from here on out, when we have a little more time, getting to know the footballers better to encourage us to do more things. Today We are still in the process of doing what we believe gives us more balance and what we believe we can generate better combinations. We are changing in the second half to re-engage some situations that are generated as they have been generated. “It’s true that we need a little time. I think that little will change from Thursday to Sunday, honestly,” he said.
“I stay away from everything that is not what matters to us, it is thinking about how to prepare for the game, how the boys arrive, how to continue in the line in which we are, and from there I manage myself. I am not concerned about everything that can be commented or what they can say, because I understand that we must always sell the derby product for all the good footballers on the field. Both the footballers and the coaches have to only worry about what matters to us, which is what each of us has to do tomorrow,” he continued.
In another order of things, the Argentine coach explained his feelings ahead of the duel. “I am always anxious, nervous, afraid, happy, excited, with expectations. These are all the emotions that a match generates in me. Since I arrived at Atlético de Madrid on the first day in Malaga, absolutely nothing has changed,” he noted. “Everything starts from the mind, beyond the fact that the physical part can influence a certain moment of the encounter. For everything in life, motivation is a double-edged sword,” he added.
He also believes that the white team will be just as dangerous despite not having the Frenchman Kylian Mbappé. “Knowing the coach, he will look to either play like he played at the beginning with Bellingham, there as a hook or fourth on the left, or with the appearance of Modric there in the middle, or also as a hook behind Rodrygo and Vinícius. I imagine a game that we will have to take to where we believe we can hurt them,” he stressed.
“The rival has lost a very important player in the midfield like Kroos, an extraordinary player, admirable by all the coaches, and necessary in any team to give the balance that he has always given to the team. I think they are in that process, looking for that player who gives them that calm to take advantage of all the offensive power they have. But I don’t think it will differ much from the last games we have played against them, because we have brought in some new players, but they are not going. To change the plan, play Modric, Endrick or Güller,” he continued.
Finally, regarding his career in derbies, Simeone assured that since his arrival to this moment “everything has changed a lot.” “The club has grown, that is why the team is in the place it is, that is why the team is demanded as it is demanded. We must accept this growth that we have all had since my arrival to today,” he concluded. .